Tips for freeing up some data storage space
Did you know that the amount of digital data stored in the
world is doubling every two years? How about the fact that more than 90% of the
data we store is only accessed and used within the three-month period that follows
its creation? In short, chances are that most of us will either need to clear
out our hard drives or invest in some extra storage at some point.
Here then are our top tips for those that need to store more data:
1. Do a data audit
Like we’ve said previously, 90% of all data is only accessed
within the first three months of its existence. To put it another way, you may
not need 90% of all of the data you have stored on your various devices.
By simply reviewing your files, deciding which ones you no
longer need and deleting them accordingly, you’re certain to free up some extra
space.
2. Back it up
When you decide which files you no longer need, you’ll
certainly also encounter some that you’ll want to keep even though you’ve not
accessed them for some time. This leads to a conundrum: do you keep the data
and allow it to take up precious space or delete it only to possibly one day
regret your decision? By investing in a piece of storage media to conduct
backups, you can kill two birds with one stone.
Simply don’t delete these files, backup your primary devices
storage media and then delete them from your primary piece of storage media.
This way, your primary device’s media will benefit from having more space and
you’ll be able to keep any data you may want to access again in the future.
Just remember that you’ll need a backup device with a higher storage capacity
than your piece of primary storage media.
3. Try the cloud
If you don’t need a great deal of storage space for the files
you want to add to your backup, it’ll almost certainly be more cost-effective to
use the free storage options offered by companies offering online storage via
the cloud.
Generally, most companies will offer up to 5GBs of free
storage so, if your ‘secondary’ files total less than this, it’s certainly
worth creating an account and utilising online storage.
4. Empty your Recycle Bin/Trash Folder
Yes, this one is glaringly obvious but you’d be surprised
how often people delete things only to forget to remove them permanently.
Only recently, I found myself low on storage space only to
find that I had four gigabytes worth of unrequired files in my Trash Folder, for
example.
Have you accidentally
deleted your data? Find out how we can help you by clicking on the link.